In the News
Follow Us
On May 8, 2022, Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated the Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple. Although it had been raining the morning of the dedication, Elder Stevenson said that temples are a symbol of Zion and are protection from life’s storms. “Never forget what you felt today,” the Apostle said.
Elder Stevenson said that the temple is the Church’s witness that Jesus Christ is indeed the Redeemer of the world.
Latter-day Saints present the day of the dedication were tearful and joyful to now have a temple so close. Elder Joni L. Koch, first counselor in the Brazil Area presidency, said, “This moment was more important than the Olympics or the World Cup. It was bigger than anything in the city’s 500-year history.”
Accompanied at the event by his wife, Sister Lesa Stevenson, Elder Stevenson said that Brazil “is an important part of the Lord’s vineyard. These are God-fearing people. These are people that love the Lord, that love Jesus Christ.”
Elder Carlos A. Godoy of the Presidency of the Seventy and Elder Benjamin De Hoyos, a General Authority Seventy, were in attendance with Elder Stevenson and Elder Koch that day.
Dedicatory prayer excerpt: “As we consider the lives of early Church pioneers in this beautiful country of Brazil, our hearts are filled to overflowing with gratitude and emotion. May we always remember their faith and devotion and their broad shoulders of sacrifice upon which we stand. May their names be remembered, and their good works honored for generations to come.”
Read the dedicatory prayer of the Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple here.
A temple for Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was announced on April 6, 2013, by President Thomas S. Monson, 16th President of the Church. This happened during the first talk in the Saturday morning session of April 2013 general conference.
On March 4, 2017, ground was broken for the Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple. The ceremony was presided over by Elder Claudio R. M. Costa — president of the Brazil Area — and he was joined by his second counselor, Elder W. Mark Bassett.
An open house was held from March 26, 2022, through April 30, 2022. A media day was also held on March 21, and tours for invited guests ran from March 22 to March 25.
The Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple was dedicated during three sessions on May 8, 2022, by Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
The Rio de Janeiro temple was announced on April 6, 2013, by Church President Thomas S. Monson. Nine years later, the temple was dedicated by Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on May 8, 2022.
The Rio de Janeiro temple stands on 9.44 acres along with a full-size meetinghouse. The temple was designed to complement other architecture in the surrounding area of Barra da Tijuca. A spire near the front of the building rises over 140 feet and is topped with a statue of the angel Moroni.
The exterior of the structure was made with Branco Ceará granite, which was quarried in northeastern Brazil. Branco Ceará granite is considered Brazil’s whitest granite.
Around the site, the landscape incorporates foliage native to the region, including shrubs, flowering perennials and vines. In addition to the smaller plants, there are 129 palm trees, 33 flowering trees and 18 shade trees. The interior walkways around the temple are built with stone pavers of Brazilian granite.
Since the temple is so close to the South Atlantic Ocean, exterior colors were chosen to complement sights of the coast. The color pallet — shades of blue, aqua, purple and soft gold — were used to create the art glass found throughout the temple.
Native Brazilian Jequitibá hardwoods are used in various rooms of the temple. The recommend desk found at the entrance includes metal detailing that was influenced by the historic Bank of São Paulo building.
6 April 2013
8 May 2022
(55) 21-3906-4600
This was the eighth Latter-day Saint temple in Brazil.
After the Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple was dedicated, Brazil had eight temples dedicated, with eight more in the planning or construction phases.
The Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple was dedicated 100 years and one month after construction began on the city’s Christ the Redeemer statue.
The distance of just over 12 miles between the Christ the Redeemer statue and the Rio de Janeiro temple takes around 45 minutes to travel by car.
The granite used to build the Rio de Janeiro temple was the same granite used to build the Recife Brazil, Campinas Brazil and Fortaleza Brazil temples, as well as the Trujillo Peru Temple.
Elder Gary E. Stevenson’s dedication of the Rio de Janeiro temple marked the first time in Church History that all 15 members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles had dedicated or rededicated a temple.
From the birth of Elder Ulisses Soares (Oct. 2, 1958) — the youngest Apostle at the time of the Rio de Janeiro temple dedication — to the dedication, the Church in Brazil grew from 22,000 members to more than 1.4 million. When Elder Soares served as a young missionary, there had been only one temple in Brazil.
This was the eighth Latter-day Saint temple in Brazil.
After the Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple was dedicated, Brazil had eight temples dedicated, with eight more in the planning or construction phases.
The Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple was dedicated 100 years and one month after construction began on the city’s Christ the Redeemer statue.
The distance of just over 12 miles between the Christ the Redeemer statue and the Rio de Janeiro temple takes around 45 minutes to travel by car.
The granite used to build the Rio de Janeiro temple was the same granite used to build the Recife Brazil, Campinas Brazil and Fortaleza Brazil temples, as well as the Trujillo Peru Temple.
Elder Gary E. Stevenson’s dedication of the Rio de Janeiro temple marked the first time in Church History that all 15 members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles had dedicated or rededicated a temple.
From the birth of Elder Ulisses Soares (Oct. 2, 1958) — the youngest Apostle at the time of the Rio de Janeiro temple dedication — to the dedication, the Church in Brazil grew from 22,000 members to more than 1.4 million. When Elder Soares served as a young missionary, there had been only one temple in Brazil.
